Well, two months ago, I was estatic that I had started a 401k when I was 18 since I was getting such a huge jump on everyone else my age. Unfortunately, my company forgot that employees have to be 21 to start a 401k, so I'm back at square one. Maybe I should start a Roth IRA. I think I only have to be 18 to do that.
If you have the money, an IRA is good, and it's totally under your control, which is really so much the better. But don't be fooled by quest for money that we have in this culture. At your age what you really need to be investing in is your education, both inside and out of school, if you know what I mean. Good Luck.
The world is full of educated broke people. You are doing the right thing by starting young and developing your consistent investment discipline. You can earn a modest living your entire life and if you continue with your habit of saving and investing you'll retire a wealthy old man. As for your options, an IRA will allow you to contribute to you retirement around 4k a year or so, and perhaps a ROTH IRA is the way to go for you! Check out the traditional IRA vs ROTH and figure out which one is best for you! Good luck!
Good point. I'd like to add that at age 18, you should also be investing heavily in a diversified portfolio of high-yield, hot young vagina. It's a depreciating asset, but an attractive investment if you properly mitigate the effects of time decay by not holding until maturity.
I went with Roth IRA. I assume that my gains will be greater than my initial contribution. And I do plan to retire at a much higher tax bracket than I am currently. There's an income requirement for both Reg & Roth IRA